1988 Spanish Grand Prix
2 October |number = 466 |officialname = XXX Gran Premio Tio Pepe de España |circuit = Circuito de Jerez |location = Jerez de la Frontera, Spain |circuittype = Permanent racing facility |lapdistance = 4.218 |laps = 72 |distance = 303.696 |pole = Ayrton Senna |polenation = BRA-1968 |poleteam = |poletime = 1:24.067 |fastestlap = 1:27.845 |fastestlapdriver = Alain Prost |fastestlapnation = FRA |fastestlapteam = |fastestlapnumber = 60 |winner = Alain Prost |winnernation = FRA |winnerteam = |second = Nigel Mansell |secondnation = GBR |secondteam = |third = Alessandro Nannini |thirdnation = ITA |thirdteam = }} The XXX Gran Premio Tio Pepe de España, otherwise known as the 1988 Spanish Grand Prix, was the fourteenth round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Circuito de Jerez in Jerez, Spain, on the 2 October 1988.'Spanish GP, 1988', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2015), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr466.html, (Accessed 12/04/2019) The race would see Alain Prost claim victory to maintain his lead in the Championship, as teammate Ayrton Senna battled against a misreading fuel metre. Qualifing had seen Senna secure pole position as usual, beating teammate Prost by 0.067s. Best of the rest was Nigel Mansell in the , while his teammate was handed a $10,000 fine for brake testing Julian Bailey after the Brit spoiled one of his flying laps. Prost made the best getaway at the start, sprinting clear as teammate Senna bogged down and battled turbo-lag. The Brazilian was hence beaten into the first corner by Mansell, while Ivan Capelli and Thierry Boutsen clashed just behind. Senna would battle with Mansell throughout the early stages of the race, briefly passing the Williams only to run wide and let the Brit back through. Yet, there would be no changes to the order during the opening phase of the race, barring the disappearance of Michele Alboreto on lap 16 with an engine failure. Indeed, it was only when Senna began to obey the commands of his fuel metre that the order changed, with the Brazilian slipping into the sights of Patrese and Capelli. Senna's pace ultimately proved so poor that Alessandro Nannini and Gerhard Berger could join the fight, with Capelli passing Patrese soon after. Three laps later and Capelli had passed Senna and claimed third, only for an engine failure to end his race shortly after half-distance. Out front, meanwhile, Prost would keep himself just out of the reach of Mansell through to the pit stops, with the Brit ultimately dropping away after a poor switch to fresh tyres. That effectively brought an end to the race, with Prost able to stop and rejoin without losing the lead. He duly charged across the line to claim victory for the sixth time in 1988, 26 seconds clear of Mansell in second. Behind them would come Nannini, who would jump Senna during their pitstops to leave the Brazilian title pretender in fourth. The final points hence went to Patrese and Berger, who had also briefly got ahead of Senna before being passed by the McLaren late on. Background Alain Prost had returned to the top of the Championship with his fifth victory of the season last time out, opening out a five point lead over teammate Ayrton Senna. However, the Frenchman had reached the eleven race limit for scoring points, meaning he would be losing dropped scores for the rest of the season. Senna, meanwhile, had one race's grace before he began losing potential points, a small advantage heading into the final three races. had added to their Constructors' Championship winning tally in Portugal, ending the weekend on 157 points. were now a race away from securing second, having opened out a 34 point gap back to in third. The young British squad were instead set to spend the final three races trying to hold onto said position, with , and all within a win's worth of points. Entry list The full entry list for the is outlined below: Practice Overview Qualifying Friday Qualifying Saturday Qualifying Qualifying Results The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session. *'Bold' indicates a driver's best/qualifying time. ** Boutsen had his first qualifying times deleted for using an illegal front wing. Grid Race Report Results The full results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car. Milestones * 100th Grand Prix entry for as a constructor and engine supplier.'1988 Spanish GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2015), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1987&gp=Spanish%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 13/04/2019) * set a new record for most pole positions in a single season - 13. * Alain Prost claimed his 34th career victory.'14. Spain 1988', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1987/espagne.aspx, (Accessed 13/04/2019) * McLaren secured their 68th win as a constructor. ** This was also a record thirteenth win of the season. ** 40th win for as an engine supplier. * Alessandro Nannini secured 's tenth podium as a constructor. * Gabriele Tarquini set a new record for most failures to pre-qualify - 5. Standings Surprisingly there had been no change in the situation at the head of the Championship after the Spanish Grand Prix, with dropped scores coming into play. As such, Alain Prost only gained three points for his sixth victory of the season, by virtue of losing a second place worth six points from earlier in the campaign. That meant that Ayrton Senna, who would also begin losing old scores in Japan, had effectively lost no ground in Spain, in spite of finishing fourth. In the Constructors' Championship, meanwhile, it had been yet another strong weekend for , with the Anglo-Japanese alliance moving 107 points clear. Indeed, had all but secured second in Spain in spite of the colossal gap to the leaders, moving 24 points clear with 30 left to fight for. were the only team capable of beating them to the runner-up spot, with an eighteen point gap separating them from in fourth. Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown. References Images and Videos: * References: Category:Grand Prix articles Category:Grand Prix articles Category:1988 Grands Prix Category:Spanish Grand Prix